Biggest Chemical Injection Package ever built by LEWA is finished

10/23/2015

In order to meet a wide array of requirements, pump manufacturer and system integrator Lewa through their Singaporean subsidiary (LEWA-Nikkiso Singapore Pte. Ltd.) recently fabricated and installed Lewa’s largest chemical injection module ordered to-date, on a Brazilian FPSO off the coast of Singapore.

With dimensions of 21.3 x 20 x 10 m and an estimated operating weight of 714 tons, the complete module surpasses the two others that the Lewa Group has produced for the EPC since 2010. Overall, 2,700 m of pipeline is installed in the module; it can be operated at a maximum pressure of 385 bar and consists of three levels.

The essential components include over 40 Lewa diaphragm and process pumps in accordance with the API 675 standard and 40 IRCD injection line for controlling the injection volumes located at level 1 of the module. At level 2, there are 18 stainless-steel tanks with a working volume of 210 m³ and one FRP tank with a working volume of 5 m3. The third level is the tote tank platform designed and fabricated to hold 27 individual chemical tote tanks, with rubber strips for anti-spark protection during handling.

When designing this gigantic module, a wide array of technical standards and requirements had to be taken into account. For instance, for a very corrosive chemical, the pumps and pipelines were produced from special titanium materials; the storage tank of fiber-reinforced composite are designed according to the AMSE-RTP-1 standard.

It was possible to meet the material handling requirements by installing ten monorail conveyors with a load of 0.5 t each and one davit arm with SWL of one ton. All of the equipment for the seven and nine-headed pump systems also had to be housed within a tight space constraint. Here, the arrangement should not only be compact, but also ergonomic in operation so that there is no health risk and the operator does not have to reach more than 30 cm for any part on the system.

Safety and ergonomic operation in an extremely narrow space

Close collaboration between the engineering/project team in Singapore and the pumps sales/ production team in Germany started during the planning phase, but Lewa also acted as far more than just a supplier and system integrator during manufacturing and production. Lighting lux calculation has been carried out to use ex-rated lighting fixtures for lighting the interior of the module—with both normal and emergency circuit designs to meet requisite lux levels. Unique color coding was applied for identifying alkaline, acidic and neutral chemicals to comply with the Brazilian NR requirements. Access points as well as escape routes were sized as dictated by NORSOK S2 standards for work environments, despite the very limited space available to Lewa. Lewa also designed and installed the complete firewater deluge system for the CIP module.

The complete module has been modeled at Singapore in 3D using a plant design management system and reviewed together with the EPC and operator to prevent potential weaknesses during various phases of constructing this behemoth. The individual parts were subject to precise quality checks and inspection before being installed on the module fabricated in Singapore at an open seafront yard that had been specifically leased for the duration of the construction period.

Already in 2010 and 2012, Lewa had two custom-built modules, one with three levels and one with two—both integrated on an FPSO with a total of 36 pumps. Here, each solution was optimized such that the design met the stringent requirements.